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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

How to Maintain Your Spinning Reel

It is not just you, there are many of us who do not take good care of our branded and dear fishing tackles such as spinning reels and ten when it does not work properly, and we blame the company for not making genuine stuffs. Just after returning from a fishing trip we tend to dump the equipments in the basement only to take them out in the next fishing trip and by that time they have almost lost all their capacity to perform as a good reel.

If you are fishing for small mouth bass or trout, the spinning reels take a lot of abuse, not to mention if you float-tube ponds. Dunking the fishing reels in a stream or pond or a lake removes the valuable oil and grease, which gets replaced by the crud. The next time you take it fishing you will see it is not working the way it should. With money being tight you can't always opt for buying the reel. But just an hour of maintenance with a small screwdriver, grease or quality reel oil, old toothbrush, couple of clean towels can do a world of good to your fishing reel.

There are tiny screws and ultra thin washers in the spinning reels and if you lose them once it is very frustrating to get down on all fours and look for the. Therefore using a used egg carton to store these tiny parts is ideal.

After taking off the spool, clean it and add a few drops of reel oil. You can also use the new molecular bond oil and check the bottom of the shaft to ensure that it is tight.

If you watch the roller guide intently you will notice where the bail spring meets the reel spool housing- oil it. The roller guide, which wraps the line around the reel spool should also be oiled, just squeeze in a few drops.

Do not forget to oil the handle knob shaft that fits inside the reel; you can either remove the handle by a screw or by rotating the handle backwards.

With the old toothbrush now clean the main gear using soapy water. You will notice the old grease has formed on the gear. Remove it by dropping it into kerosene, rubbing alcohol or lighter fluid.

To dry all the parts, leave them to air-dry. Once they are dry, apply a little grease to the each tooth of the main gear and oil the bearings. This is the time to check if there are for sand, dirt, or fibers or any other slime. Spraying the insides with a harsh chemical solvent is not a good idea- it will damage the plastic parts and push all the grime into the inner niche of the reel.

One thing to be kept in mind while maintaining your fishing tackles is to use the grease in moderation. Online tackle shops suggest using grease but applying too much of it will not make it function the way it is meant to.

Now all you have to do is out everything back the way it was, and wipe it with clean towels. Maintaining your fishing reels is complete and you are not going to be disappointed with it in the next fishing trip.

Allan Simons is an experienced Australian fisherman as well as an accomplished writer of fishing and fishing tackles.